Key functions of good CMS’

There are some rerally important features that make a great CMS. Since the main issue is usability with the current cms, this is going top be the main focus of the redesign. Simple adjustments that will make a world of difference to the user.

The Editor

The content needs to be easily editable and this is one of the key features of every cms. Therefore a great question is whether to use a top-aligned editor or an inline editor? This is reasonably easy to answer, the main editor should be available at all times while the inline editor should be available in a live edit mode. A great inline editor is the medium editor (https://yabwe.github.io/medium-editor/).

 

Managing assets

The user must be able to see images via upload date, and also search for file names, they should be able to delete or upload images to the assets section of the site.

Help/Search

The help and search feature is an important one, it offers users with no technical know-how information regarding a specific topic they are stuck with. For example they could search questions into the guide to get specific help with something, they could search for the title of a page they are looking for so they can edit it quickly. This feature could save the user from wasting valuable time.

Customisation

Customisation of the site should vary depending on the users needs. The majority of the sites the client designs for are predesigned and should not allow for further editing. That said, should the company want to update the looks of their site they should be able to without having to pay the company more to do so.

Customisation on a smaller scale could be like allowing the user to update the colours used in the navigation bar or site wide fonts.

Versioning

Versioning is a great feature that allows the user to have the safety of knowing that if they accidentily content, they can revert to an older version of the site. This makes it easier for them to update the site for short periods of time with short promotions etc with the ability to easily revert.

Social Media Integration

Social media is such a large part of running as business today, it should be relevant for the organisation to have a hub of all the social media on the site. The site could pull the integration even more into the design so that when the site developer adds a story to the blog they have the option to easily share the story through their social networks.

Analytics

Analytics should offer the organisation an outlook at hit views so they can track success of their posts on the site, what sections are most important to their users. Allowing them to move forward with enhanced knowledge of their business.

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Recap of the research

The research stage of the project is now over which means that it is time top reflect on my research, and the steps I have taken from the inital concept.

It evident that the research has allowed me to explore possibilities that were clearly innapropriate for the purpose of the project, but was only after extensive was it obvious that this was the case.

A List of things that have changed is made below.

The educational sector side was completely removed. The more I researched the more it became apparent that the purpose of the site was that it should encourge exploration at the will of the user. By trying to add educational features would only prevent the exploration element of the site.

The profitabilty of the service became defined more. Instead of charging users for availability of features, I found the best way would be to offer unlimited use of the features, and allow them to use it to meet people globally online. The profitablity comes from user becoming engaged in the ecosystem of the service and then buying the accessories that are available through the store. While this is optional it, it allows the user to be fully present in the engagement with the content and other users without any distractions.

The characters developed over time, and went from being one character, to five characters with different characteristics. This made the option for the customisation of the service much greater! This was influenced by a large ammount of research, including the trip to the M&M’s store (https://akbrodie.wordpress.com/2016/10/20/kids-store-research/), the Angry birds characters (https://akbrodie.wordpress.com/2016/10/20/analysing-the-angry-birds-platform/) & the kids movie research (https://akbrodie.wordpress.com/2016/10/22/notes-from-childrens-movies/).

The content of the site changed in a large way too when I realised I would not be able to mix real imagery with cartoon imagery. Then I choose to move into a cartoon based site. That was realised through three main pieces of research, the virtual experiences, other kids games (https://akbrodie.wordpress.com/2016/10/24/lessons-learnt-from-kids-games/) and the design for kids (https://akbrodie.wordpress.com/2016/11/16/knowing-my-target-audience/).

Developing a storyline was something that followed my research of the kids movies (https://akbrodie.wordpress.com/2016/10/22/notes-from-childrens-movies/) and storytelling techniques (https://akbrodie.wordpress.com/2016/11/20/storytelling-emotions-characterists/). It meant that the kids could be more engaged in the content. I realised they could expore the world in a dfifferent way fi they were doing so with a character.

The site became much less bloated from jusing the virtual trips idea, as it meant the content could be simplified and categorised to maked the overall experience esasier to understamd for my target audience.

The quizzes

The quizzes within this website are for the people interesting in testing their knowledge on a specific topic, therefore this can play a vital role within the service where it is still used to educate students and test their basic knowledge on a specific topic, that relates to trips they have taken.

With a simplified experience, there is less content to quiz the users on. The quizzable content includes;

Basic Language

The Capital

The Capitals’ location on the map

Events

Stereotypes

This is content that can be explored throughout their virtual trip to the country. The questions, and the way they are written should vary for the different age ranges.